Rachel Tayse & Lillian Tayse-Baillieul. Avian * Floral * Warm. 2025-2026. Standard 308 Brooklyn Red Clay + Coyote Matt Glazes. 11×32″.

Artist Statement:

Avian * Floral * Warm is an exploration of size and collaboration using familiar subject matter and techniques. Cooperating with the commissioners – my parents – and the second artist – my child – brought familial joy to the making. Creating the piece of exact dimensions to fit in the proposed space and of a larger scale than I have previously worked challenged me, leading to deeper understanding of the tolerances of the clay medium and my studio design.

Process:

When my parents renovated the kitchen of their 100 year old home, they were left with an awkward spot between a window and a passthrough. They commissioned me to create a ceramic tile wallhanging to cover the gap.

My parents offered complete design freedom, but I wanted a little direction to narrow the subject matter. I asked them to choose two or three words from a list of adjectives and they selected avian, floral, and warm.

I invited my kid Lil, an experienced realism sculptor, to create the birds I envisioned. The piece also includes gestural shaping of slabs by pushing from the back to front to create raised indents, a technique I learned from Tom Radca. The edges are crimped with finger presses. Shapes were incised at the wet clay stage and lined with wax after bisque, which creates raw clay outlines deliniating the glazed areas. Rather than installing with mortar and grout, I mounted the 18 tiles to matte black board so the finished piece can be hung from a hook and moved if desired.